Julius Randle scored 18 points and the Timberwolves pulled away for a 108-83 win over the Golden State Warriors on Monday night in Minneapolis, giving Minnesota a split of the teams’ two-game mini series.
Bones Hyland added 17 points off the bench for Minnesota, which snapped a season-high five-game losing streak. Rudy Gobert posted 15 points and 17 rebounds, and Donte DiVincenzo scored 15 points on 5-of-9 3-point shooting while contributing eight assists.
Quinten Post scored 13 points to lead Golden State, which won 111-85 in Minneapolis on Sunday. Brandin Podziemski scored 12 points on Monday, and Gui Santos registered 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The Timberwolves shot 46.2% (37 of 80) overall and 40% (14 of 35) from beyond the 3-point arc. The Warriors hit 34.7% (33 of 95) overall and 23.1% (9 of 39) from deep.
Minnesota outscored Golden State 32-18 in the second quarter to take a 53-38 advantage into the break. The Timberwolves put up the final seven points of the first half thanks to a free throw by Gobert and six points by Randle, who had a layup, a dunk and a jump shot.
The Warriors fell further behind in the second half. McDaniels made a driving layup and hit a 3-pointer to finish a 7-0 run and put Minnesota ahead 69-50 with 3:47 left in the third quarter.
DiVincenzo made a 3-pointer to put the Timberwolves up 100-68 with 5:26 to go.
Both teams played without key players, although the Warriors were particularly short-handed.
The Timberwolves played without top scorer Anthony Edwards, who sat out because of what the team described as “right foot injury maintenance.” Edwards took part in pregame warmups and is likely to return Wednesday on the road against the Dallas Mavericks.
Golden State played without Stephen Curry and Draymond Green on the second night of a back-to-back set of games. Curry rested because of lingering knee soreness, and Green missed the game because of back soreness.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he was optimistic that Curry and Green both would be available to play the team’s next game Wednesday night against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City.
In addition to missing Curry and Green, Golden State played without veterans Al Horford and De’Anthony Melton. Both players had a rest day after taking part in the first game of the series. And the Warriors are still missing Jimmy Butler III and Jonathan Kuminga because of knee injuries.
